With the end of the year approaching, the best singles and albums of the year are announced in various music media. Among several such lists, the one I personally trust is from NPR radio station, and Arooj Aftab’s “Vulture Prince,” the album I listened to a lot this year, is listed at No. 7.

I first started listening to this album because of its high reputation and the fact that the musician lives in Brooklyn, where I live, but my first impression was not so impressive. However, as I listened more and more, the music performed and sung by Aftab, who is from Pakistan, gave me a sense of calmness.

The sound structure itself is not complicated. For example, the first song on the album, “Baghon Main,” is led by a beautiful melody on the harp, accompanied by violin and double bass, which harmonize perfectly with her singing to create a mysterious and serene sound.

In spite of the simplicity of the sound, the depth is brought by the addition of ethnic sounds that are different from those of so-called Western music. Needless to say, the “different sound” is a melody reminiscent of Aftab’s roots in South Asia.

A fusion of different cultures, languages, and sounds to create an innovative sound.

The fusion of different cultures is not only in the sound but also in the lyrics, with Pakistani language being used in many parts of the songs on the album. In “Inayaat,” the third track on the album, the language is used from the beginning to the end of the song.In the American music scene, it is not uncommon, but not uncommon, for a song that uses a non-English language or music to gain attention and become a hit.

For example, Brazilian-born Sergio Mendes was one of the key figures in expanding the popularity of bossa nova in the 1960s, not only in the U.S. but also internationally, and Buena Vista Social Club became one of the first groups to dominate the Cuban music scene in the late 1990s and early 2000s, along with a major hit movie featuring the group.

We cannot compare her to other musicians simply because she is from a non-English speaking country, as the times and social conditions are different, but in Aftab’s case, her personal characteristics seem to be more to the front.

I got the chance to see Buena Vista Social Club in concert in New York, and I was thrilled to see that there was music in existence that resonated with the listener so much, and it made sense that they would gain worldwide popularity. However, the reason for their recognition outside of Cuba cannot be said without American musician Ry Cooder.

Mendes also emigrated to the U.S. in his twenties and signed with A&M, a local record label headed by Herb Albert, a acquainted trumpeter. Although A&M was an up-and-coming label, it was the backing that provided Mendes with a place to flourish, and the fact that it was a record company that knew the tendencies of American listeners meant that his songs reflected a somewhat americanized sound.

In contrast, Aftab’s debut album, Bird Under Water (2014), which she produced independently in New York after moving to the United States at the age of 20 and graduating from the prestigious Berklee College of Music, credited her with songwriting as well as produce. Then she signed with the independent label New Amsterdam, and after her second album, ”Siren Islands” (2018), which was devoted to writing and singing, she again produced herself for ”Vulture Prince”.

Identity as a Pakistani in its main axis

This means that Aftab herself has taken the lead in the making of the album, and as I mentioned earlier, the result is that the album is a great reflection of herself. One of the most notable examples of this is “Diya Hai,” which expresses her feelings as a family member, as her own brother had the misfortune of dying while she was working on it.

At the same time, her Pakistani identity also assumes a key role in the album. The first single cut, “Last Night,” is partly a quote from a poem by Rumi, a Pakistani poet, and the influence of Pakistani culture is also strongly projected here.

Last night my beloved was like the moon
So beautiful
Last night my beloved was like the moon
So beautiful
So beautiful like the moon
So beautiful like the moon
So beautiful like the moon
So beautiful like the moon
Even brighter than the sun　

After the simple English lyrics and some repetitive phrases, comes the Urdu (the common language of Pakistan) part, which I, with my limited verbal skills, could not translate or understand. Similarly, there must have been many listeners who were attracted to this song but could not grasp all the lyrics, which were in two different languages.

However, if you listen closely to the song and the performance, you will gradually realize that this “mixture” creates a strange effect. This is shown in the following part of the song, where the lyrics are in English, which I introduced above, followed by Urdu, which comes next, and then concludes the song.

So beautiful like the moon
So beautiful like the moon
So beautiful like the moon
So beautiful like the moon
Even brighter than the sun
Grace far beyond my grasp
The rest is silence

Most people agree that language is important when it comes to communicating with others. But is that everything when you are trying to communicate with someone? Do we need a common language to be able to understand each other?In spite of differences in language, cultural and social values, many people think of the moon as “pretty” or “beautiful”. Individual thoughts, philosophies, or political beliefs cannot interfere with this.

The pleasure and euphoria brought about by this mutual understanding that transcends language and is universal can be read in the phrase “Grace far beyond my grasp” in the lyrics.In this unstable age where the future is uncertain, and frustrations and worries are sometimes expressed as negative emotions, clashing and bickering can occur, the fantastic world of this song, which embraces and welcomes the mixture, brings back a sense of calm to our turbulent minds.

Illustration Masatoo Hirano
Edit Sumire Taya

The post 「TOKION Song Book」Vol.8 Arooj Aftab “Last Night”,luscious tunes created by the fusion of cultures and languages appeared first on TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information.

Taking the name of the French poet Charles Baudelaire, who loved to travel, we can feel his unfathomable love for hip-hop and his aesthetics in the rich variations of songs that make us feel as if we are traveling through the history of hip-hop. Ryoichi Niimoto, who explores American pop culture and literature from a fresh perspective, has chosen Tyler the Creator’s “Wilshire”.

Ann Powers is one of the music critics I trust. She appears on NPR radio and occasionally contributes to their web site, and her piece on Tyler the Creator caught my attention. My curiosity was piqued because she mentioned the topic of one of her novels in the text. The short story “Cat Person,” by American writer Kristen Roupenian, was published in the New Yorker magazine a few years ago, and quickly became a big topic on the Internet.

I read it when it was first published, and I remember that it left me with a bad after-taste. It’s not about the quality of the work, but about the way the characters were portrayed without any back and forth, which made me feel a kind of uncomfortable reality.

The novel’s main character, a college student, meets a much older man who is a customer at the movie theater where she works as a part-time worker. Eventually, the two exchange text messages and fall in love, but perhaps because of the age difference, there is a gap in their hearts that seems to be mutual. If you hear it like this, you might think it’s a story you can find anywhere.

However, as I mentioned earlier, the reality of the story comes from the fact that it depicts a side of humanity that we do not wish to see. For example, when a couple with an age difference first starts dating, they seem to be enjoying each other’s company. However, as time goes by and they start to lose touch with each other, they become cold and curt with each other, revealing the negative side of their relationship that they had been hiding.

Returning to the article by Powers at the beginning of this article, both sides of this human condition are expressed in “Wilshire,” the last song on Tyler the Creator’s latest album, “Call Me If You Get Lost”.

So, I went through the lyrics and found that there are indeed some ethically problematic aspects of the song, such as the selfishness of the narrator in the song.What’s wrong is that the song deals with a love triangle in which the narrator falls in love with his friend’s girlfriend even though he knows she is his friend’s girlfriend (in Tyler’s PV called “Side Street,” the two are shown flirting with each other under the her boyfriend’s eye).

The problem is he my friend, but if I’m honest, I’m really hopin’ you drop

him

It’s morals I really have, it’s lines I could never cross

But you got somethin’ that make all them good intentions get lost

I try to keep it together, never felt this way

The melody line, which starts with an impressive drum sound and is given a jazz flavor by the harmonizing bass, is a perfect match for the monologue style narration. As a result, the narrator of the song, who has slept with his friend’s lover, somewhat tries to justify his actions and adopts an attitude of rejection, which brings an image of self-centeredness and unseemliness to the listener.

On the other hand, it does not mean that they have zero guilt.When she meets him without her friends, the narrator says, “I don’t care if this friendship is ruined for you.”

in the same breath he shows his disapproval, saying he is sorry to be treated this way.

Multiple faces of humanity are surfacing and being discussed in the current age

The character is certainly ugly and disgusting, lamenting the fact that he can’t see his girlfriend, even though he deserves it, and telling her that he wants her to break up with his friend. It’s so true that some people may think that this is a real episode, just like “Cat Person,” but I am not that interested in the personal lives of famous musicians.

What draws me to this songis the multifaceted nature of humanity that it shows, and the surfacing of it that the times bring.As I have already mentioned, the film, which is over eight and a half minutes long, reveals a mixture of selfishness and guilt. However, as the film approaches its conclusion, the tone shifts to one of greater exposure.

And I’m mad private with this side of my life ’cause people are weirdos, and

I just try to keep anyone I care about in the shadows

Safe from the commentary and spotlight and thoughts

‘Cause it’s just a story for the people outside of it

But I guess you’re just another chapter in the book

As for the last phrase, the interpretation of what “book” means may differ. We can read it as people have a wide range of interests, and someone’s love life or ugly news is just one of them. Or, the man who tells this story is an uncontrollable character who is not satisfied with just one partner in love, but is easily distracted and wants to start a relationship with another person.

However, what is significant in this song is not the end, but rather the first few lines.Suppose the narrator is the author Tyler the Creator, who, as a celebrity, is destined to have all his private affairs exposed to the light of day. One of the most prominent aspects of the story is the lament for the loss of privacy, despite the fact that he is still a human being, no matter how famous he is.Another is the way society gazes at an individuals.Needless to say, there are many aspects of human beings. It is not surprising that there is a mean side hidden somewhere, even if it appears on the surface to be kind and sincere, which shows the complexity of human beings.

It could be a hobby, a habit, anything, but it shows a side of a person that they don’t usually show, and while there are others who sympathize with them, there is also the possibility that their image may be damaged. The problem is that we live in the era where, as the lyrics of this song suggest, negative reactions of others are written and spread in an interesting way by social media.Is it too much of a leap to think that “imposing” a fixed image on people is creating a kind of suffocation in modern society? There is no need to be nostalgic, but with the spread of social media and other new means of communication, it seems to me that we need to be open-minded enough to accept others with different “faces” in our time.

Illustration Masatoo Hirano
Edit Sumire Taya

The post 「TOKION Song Book」Vol.7 Tyler the Creator’s “Wilshire” implies the age of social networking where negative information tends to be spread appeared first on TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information.

Seeking a connection with nature and looking at its importance

Around the beginning of April, the warm season came and I wanted to go out to the table. A year after the pandemic, vaccinations have finally begun and behavioral restrictions have been relaxed a bit, but the chances of going out have been significantly reduced compared to before the corona epidemic.Perhaps because of such daily life, I have come in predisposed to seek nature more than before. As I stayed in home, I felt that the passage of time was paralyzed, and I became more eager to get in touch with the flow of the seasons while looking at the flowers and vegetation.It seems that I’m not the only one who feels like this, and there are movements to deepen relationship with nature in various parts of society.

One of them is an article entitled “The Social Life of Forests” published in The New York Times Magazine on December 6th last year.Canadian scholar Suzanne Simard, who studies the ecology of forests, continued to publish the discourse that each tree in the forest lives in support of each other, regardless of type.Her theory finally been recognized in recent years and is now attracting attention.

When Ms.Simard first published the research, it was so groundbreaking that it was unpopular with other researchers.They stated that trees exist individually, and that there can be no network formation of trees that she advocates, let alone mutual aid between different species of trees, and her theory is It was ridiculed as “very girlish”.

When I first saw the PV of “Hard Drive” recorded in “An Overview on Phenomenal Nature” with a nature motif by American singer-songwriter Cassandra Jenkins, it was called “girlish” in this article. The phrase came to my mind.The song “Hard Drive” in “An Overview on Phenomenal Nature” with a nature motif by American singer-songwriter Cassandra Jenkins. When I first saw the PV, the phrase “girlish” came to my mind.

Looking at the recent music scene in general, there are works with the theme of nature.

Typical examples are “folklore” released by Taylor Swift during the lockdown with a strong desire to create, and “evermore” following it. “Hard Drive” also projects the identity of a woman, focusing on the importance of connecting with nature.As Mr. Simard’s “Network in the Forest” discourse was labeled “girlish” and later recognized as a result of her research, Jenkins escaped from a male-dominated society and faced nature. So, dynamic expressions such as regaining oneself are attracting attention.Jenkins’ approach can be seen in the next opening part of the song.

So these are real things that happened
Where you can apply these, these, um, important concepts
And understand that
When we lose our connection to nature
We lose our spirit, our humanity, our sense of self

The narration of the introductory part of the song introduces the interaction between the narrator woman “I” and the female security guard she encountered. After being taught by the female security guard the indispensable relationship between humans and nature, she then goes into a song and develops into a male-female relationship in the lyrics.

A security guard
Stopped me to offer an overview on phenomenal nature
She said, “Sculpture is not just formed from penetration
You see, men have lost touch with the feminine”
And with her pink lipstick
And her Queens accent
She went on for a while about our president

The “sculpture” the female security guard speaks of is probably the birth of life. It is not just the result of penetration, the act of sex. It is implied that childbirth means the establishment of a new relationship between mother and child, and fosters affection and tolerance for people other than oneself.However, not only did the men not care about it, they also stopped looking at it.”President of this country” refers to Donald Trump, given the time when the song was made. As symbolized by that Trump, he pledges allegiance to himself, cares only for those who do not have an extra mouth, reveals hostility to other human beings, and is obsessed with aggressive words and deeds toward them. There is such affection and forgiveness in the opposite position to the narrow world.

Find common denominator in the connection with nature in “Hard Drive”

That’s why I found something in common between Mr. Simard’s theory of network in the forest and the connection with nature in “Hard Drive.”Even if the trees are of different varieties, the idea of sharing nutrition and participating in creating a community of forests calls for fostering solidarity and aiming for a new era and society, transcending boundaries such as race and nationality. It is compatible with this work.
The ending of the song embodies her message.

I ran into Perry at Lowell’s place
Her gemstone eyes caught my gaze
She said, “Oh, dear, I can see you’ve had a rough few months
But this year, it’s gonna be a good one
I’ll count to three and tap your shoulder
We’re gonna put your heart back together
So all those little pieces they took from you
They’re coming back now
They’ll miss ’em too
So close your eyes
I’ll count to three
Take a deep breath
Count with me”

There is a preamble to this. As the title “Hard Drive” means, “I” learned to drive a car from a man named Darryl, and he sat in the passenger seat and kept giving instructions to her and “He reminds me to leave room”.When she finally got her license, “I” confess that he was already 32 years old.

In a male-dominated society, “I” have lived by being obedient to their rules, but it is no longer necessary.Society is shifting to an era in which it is possible to fully demonstrate its inherent power.Regain “I used to live without being obedient to men” and live. The image spreads in the world of this song.However that doesn’t give the impression of being exclusive. Rather than excluding someone, while respecting each person’s personality, values, and claims, as if trees of different heights, flowers, leaves, and fruit types form a mutual aid network in the forest. We try to create our society without being bound by ourselves. This song has such a generosity, which may be because it gives the listener a certain sense of compatriots.

Illustration Masatoo Hirano
Edit Sumire Taya

The post TOKION SONG BOOK #5：Cassandra Jenkins’s “Hard Drive” depicts a world that coexists in recognition of diversity. appeared first on TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information.

It’s just less than a year. Large-scale events and incidents that seemed to swallow not only here in the United States but all over the world occurred in quick succession. Needless to say, corona infection is one of them. Furthermore, the fluctuation of democracy due to political distrust, which is symbolized by the attack on the United States Capitol in the capital Washington earlier this year, can be seen everywhere not only in the United States but also in the international community. And the main theme of this article,Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.

The murder of a black man by a white police officer in Minneapolis, a city in the western part of the United States in May 2020, was shocked to the world as soon as the images taken by people in the vicinity were broadcast on the Internet.This “Killing of George Floyd” named after the victims, drew attention to other racist victims and led to protests throughout the country calling for a radical reform of the police force.

The BLM movement, which had been recognized in American society before that, accelerated its momentum when the state of the protest movement was reported through the mass media and SNS. What I was interested in was the widespread support for the BLM movement in Japan on social media and other media.No matter how much the police are in the position of a non-resisting person, it is not an act that should be allowed to use violence to the point of death. The idea certainly feels convincing.

The idea that non-resisting humans should not be allowed to use deadly violence, no matter how much the police, is certainly convincing. However, there are not many black people living in Japan compared to the big cities in the United States where black communities are formed like New York.

Why did the Japanese feel more like me in a situation where I don’t have many opportunities to interact with black people on a daily basis? It’s not only Japanese. Did the vast majority of people outside the United States think of the black Americans without knowing that it was just a fire on the opposite shore.I was personally interested in this phenomenon.

Raising a doubt over racism in our society

In 2020, which can be said to be such a turbulent year, a band called Sault from England suddenly appeared like a gale with the album “UNTITLED (Black Is)”.

I never heard of the band name before,The band and their works highly acclaimed with many music media, including the personally trusted US radio station NPR, which was selected as the top of the best album of the year.

When I tried to find out about this band on the internet, such as membership and career, I couldn’t get much information, and the only thing I found was that it was a black soul group. However, it can be said that their anonymous approach, which does not reveal their identity, conversely enhances their interest in music.

Unlike the pop star performances and songs that everyone knows on spectacular stages and huge arenas, mixed-gender, sometimes whispering, and sometimes screaming voices have an affinity as if they were right there. Each song on the album has a message, and it still appeals for justice that denies racial discrimination in our society. Among them, their popular song “Wildfires” has plain lyrics, but it also has an appealing power that moves the listener’s heart.

Thief in the night
Tell the truth
White lives
Spreading lies
You should be ashamed
The bloodshed on your hands
Another man
Take off your badge
We all know it was murder
Murder, murder
Murder
We are dying, it’s the reason we are crying
We are crying
But we will never show fear
Even in my eyes
I will always rise
In wildfires
I ain’t never been scared
Even through my tears
I will always care
In wildfires
(Lyric from Wildfires by Sault)

The first phrase “Thief in the night” is a quote from the Bible and it is secret language said to mean “unpredictable”. It touches on the absurd daily life and social system of being treated unfairly by the color of the skin, that is, by nature, one does not know when a disaster will strike oneself.Then, what is the disaster is the police power that follows.As mentioned earlier, when George Floyd was detained in Minneapolis, a white policeman suffocated him with his knees on his neck, lying on the ground and immobile.Another case in Louisville, Kentucky, is Breonna Taylor, a black woman who died after being shot by several innocent police officers. There are too many similar incidents have occurred in recent years.

“Take off your badge” this shows police who use violence for excessive investigation and detention just because they are black.

Is such a person eligible to call himself the police who should keep the community safe? In the legal arena where fair judgment should be made, the current situation in which such false police power is not guilty and is still left unchecked is summarized in the word “Spreading lies” in the lyrics.

Bravely confront a stereotypical perspective

However, no matter how unfairly treated or discriminated against, they do not despair and try to reach society and the world.

That attitude unfolds in the second half of the song. It makes me feel the courage to confront the stereotypical view of race, ethnicity, religion and so on.This is the response to the present era, and should have gained support from home and abroad. It could also be defined as “soul resistance”.

On the other hand,Coronavirus has caused many casualties in various parts of the world, and the days of agony continue to today.

When politicians and the mass media take up this, they often use numbers. Systems that can be incorporated into a group of deceased people and tailored to one of them will be found elsewhere in modern society, where information data is important.

A society in which the existence of individuals is poorly treated, buried, and erased, such as prejudice against race and grouping by numbers.Resolutely resist this situation. It gives power to this song and shakes the hearts of listeners who long for a society where individuals are respected.

Text Niimoto Ryoichi
Illustration Masatoo Hirano
Edit & Translation Sumire Taya

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The post TOKION SONG BOOK #4：”Wildfires” by Sault resonates with the BLM movement and strongly promotes a fair world appeared first on TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information.

The word “believe” has come to heavy things nowadays. Maybe I can say it’s somber one.
We have always been skeptical about interpersonal relationships, society and the mass media. It’s not new to have anxiety and worries about whether you’re being fooled or being used by someone and eventually being overtaken, and that fluctuating mental state is human essential thing.

On the other hand, this unstable feeling also has aspects that arise only in modern society. Needless to say, digital culture have a prodigious influence on us.SNS is now a tool that we use on a daily basis as a source of information, and has become a service that the majority of people from all over the world participate in as a place to interact. At the same time as exchanging opinions and providing information, it provides an opportunity for participants who have similar views, concept of values to gather.

Think about this from the opposite direction, it can be said that it created a strange comfort that you do not have to deal and talk with people who do not agree with your opinions and ideas at all. Rather than conflicting with each other or hating hair and causing trouble, there is an increasing tendency to spend time with like-minded people, even online.

However,this situation cause losing the oppotunity to conform the idea even if one part disagrees.Of course, when you go out into society, you will come across people who do not fit in with each other, but by accumulating the experience of finding things that can be shared, people should have learned to hone their reason and conscience, respect others, and have grown up.

Gathering in a certain closed environment, whether real or online, can help you sort out outsiders. Or even if you’re inside, when you say something unexpected or take action, you may be branded as no longer a member of the group.
From this point of view, we may be more suspicious than ever before. I feel that the tendency to not allow ambiguous answers in interpersonal relationships and not to find a compromise has created a society with an explosives storage, one wrong choice cause a big incident.

American rock band Fleet Foxes made their debut with “Fleet Foxes” (2008), released their second album “Helplessness Blues” (2011), and after a six-year charging period, “Crack -Up ”(2017) resumed music activities. “Can I Believe You”, a fantastic seaside photograph by Japanese photographer Hiroshi Hamaya, beautifully portrays such a “suspicious” era in the latest work “Shore (2020)” used in the album design. Is recorded.
The band’s acoustic songs, which inherit folk rock such as CSNY and Simon & Garfunkel, which swept the music scene at the end of the 1960s, are always easy to hear. On the other hand, if not as direct as “Ohio”, a protest song created by CSNY based on the 1970 Kent State University shootings, this “Can I Believe You” reflect this divided modern world.

Can I believe you?
Can I believe you?
Can I
Ever know your mind?
Am I handing you mine?
Do we both confide?
I see it, eat through every word I sow
See what you need to, do you doubt it’s yours?

(Lyric from “Can I Believe You”）

Since “I” and “you” are the song subjects, at first glance, I get the impression that romance has become a strained relationship after a certain period of time. However, assuming that you are talking to all the people you encounter in society, you will see something quite different.The key words are the words “eat through every word” and “See what you need to”.
The narrator puts something into words in a dialogue with others, but not only does it not reach his thoughts properly, but it is distorted by the person who did not intend it at all, and it is summarized in the sentence “at through every word”.
It seems that it reflects the phenomenon of the times when the means of communication changes due to digitalization, one’s remarks are cut out from the context, only that is emphasized, and the emotions of the recipient are reversed.
If there is a misunderstanding or misunderstanding, there is a way to approach from here to get it understood correctly, but this narrator does not take a concession approach. On the contrary, the self-righteousness that warns the listener that he should not admit his own blame and think carefully about what he is doing can be read from “See what you need to.”

Now I’m learning the ropes
Never get this close
I’ve been wounded before
Hasn’t let me go
It never got less strange, showing anyone just a bare face

(Lyric from “Can I Believe You”）

When I think about what the ropes that comes here show, words such as compromise and fusion come to mind. I don’t know if it’s thick or thin, but the rope that connects to someone can’t be cut off even if he wants it, and he’ll stick to him forever.I can’t help but feel the connection that human beings have with other people. Although there are differences in ideology, we have something in common somewhere in ourselves. There is such a faint brightness hidden in the depths of the song that it has the potential to be unraveled someday, while having the frustration of not stepping into the overlapping part.

Text Niimoto Ryoichi
Illustration Masatoo Hirano
Edit Sumire Taya

The post “TOKION Song Book” Vol.3 Fleet Foxes’ lates song “Can I Believe You” reflects the divided modern times. appeared first on TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information.

I am a contrary person from birth. I wasn’t very interested in the musician who was overwhelmingly popular and was at the top of the hit chart every time a new album was released, and there are many songs that I missed because my silly prejudice.Until recently, Taylor Swift was such a musician for me. Probably I wouldn’t listen her latest work “folklore” without the involvement of indie rock people such as Aaron Dessner (The National) and Bon Iver. However, not being a fan and inexperienced listening gave me the opportunity to face this album without prejudice and preconceived. Throughout the album, I got affinity with Taylor Swift and her music.

Then, what is the “affinity” comes from the introspective nature of each song. It’s like when I first listened to Bon Iver’s “For Emma, ​​Forever Ago” (2008) and, further back, John Lennon’s “John’s Soul” (1970).
Slow the rhythm, avoid elaborate performances, and bring the singing to the fore. The music common to these works makes the listener feel as if they are looking inside the musician. However, the difference between the two works is that Iver and Lennon voluntarily made an album in the studio, while Taylor had no choice but to put himself /in that isolated space.
It shows the current state of society at the mercy of the CONVID-19. To prevent infection, she wrote and completed the songs on the album, limiting her activities such as interacting with fellow musicians and people involved in her production.
These inconveniences are, of course, encountered not only by her, but by people all over the world as well. In other words, when everyone is exposed to everyday life and situations where they have come to reassess themselves, a tight bond is created between the musician and the listener, and even if not a longtime fan like me, you can empathize with her songs.
The above affinity means such a connection that arose from the predicament, and the recorded song “exile” strongly reflected this. The song co-starred with Iver, superficially talks about the love between men and women and their catastrophe, but the deep part of the song has a sadness suddenly thrown into the world of loneliness

I can see you standing, honey
With his arms around your body
Laughin’, but the joke’s not funny at all
And it took you five whole minutes
To pack us up and leave me with it
Holdin’ all this love out here in the hall

I think I’ve seen this film before
And I didn’t like the ending
You’re not my homeland anymore
So what am I defending now?
You were my town, now I’m in exile, seein’ you out
I think I’ve seen this film before

The situation of the song is to leave the person who was a lover, but it is interesting to use the words “homeland” and “my town” for the person who has left. For those left behind, no matter what they do outside, no matter how long they are, it is a place where they can return, and it shows that they were once a strong bond.
Their reliance place that seemed immovable disappeared from their front, or a person who is left alone, lacking something like a pillar that supports the place of their homeland, has no choice but to dwell on the the past and be confused.

I can see you starin’, honey
Like he’s just your understudy
Like you’d get your knuckles bloody for me
Second, third, and hundredth chances
Balancin’ on breaking branches
Those eyes add insult to injury

I think I’ve seen this film before
And I didn’t like the ending
I’m not your problem anymore
So who am I offending now?
You were my crown, now I’m in exile, seein’ you out
I think I’ve seen this film before
So I’m leaving out the side door

What catches the eye here is the part where the lover “leaving out the side door”. It is an expression reminiscent of a house, and the feeling of loss that the nest of love created by the two of them no longer exists exudes.The feeling of loss can also be seen as a feeling of everyday life that has continued. It is the situation where I feel the gratitude of the “home” for the first time after losing it, and know how much I have relied on and how much I have loved.
From that point of view, I feel that it is similar to the situation we are in now. The calm days before the spread of the corona infection are gone far away, and the loneliness and emptiness that we are soliciting to miss and remember those times will be further synchronized in the latter half of the song.

So step right out, there is no amount
Of crying I can do for you
All this time
We always walked a very thin line
You didn’t even hear me out (You didn’t even hear me out)
You never gave a warning sign (I gave so many signs)
All this time
I never learned to read your mind (Never learned to read my mind)
I couldn’t turn things around (You never turned things around)
‘Cause you never gave a warning sign (I gave so many signs)
So many signs, so many signs
You didn’t even see the signs

Ignoring the repeated danger signals, I am at a loss as a result of the catastrophe of love.
It’s like a mirror image of politicians who didn’t face reality and our indifference to politics, while being warned of global infectious diseases by scientific data.
Even a pop star that everyone knows would have been overwhelmed by the catastrophe of love, the inconvenience of a pandemic, and the misfortune of a huge number of casualties. I can see Taylor Swift’s ingenuity and sensibilities in singing that feeling and creating a horizontal connection with people.

Text Niimoto Ryoichi
Illustration Masatoo Hirano
Edit Sumire Taya

The post TOKION SONG BOOK #2： Taylor Swift’s “exile” that created strong cohesion and affinity from the situation of predicament appeared first on TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information.

Buzzworthiness albums were released by two musicians in June. One of these was Bob Dylan, the latest album “Rough and Rowdy Ways” was immediately preceded by the publication of a rare interview article in the pages of the New York Times, where he left some interesting comments.
“We have a tendency to live in the past, but that’s only our generation. Youngsters don’t have that tendency. They have no past, so they recognize what they see, hear, and believe.”
Naturally, as we age we accumulate the value of experience and the way the younger generations think and behave change as well, which in turn gradually gives rise to a “past” that they depend on. Yet even so, the point below by Dylan on the generation known as “digital natives” because they were born at a time when the internet had already become widespread, is suggestive.
“As far as technology goes, it makes everybody vulnerable. But young people don’t think like that. They could care less. Telecommunications and advanced technology is the world they were born into. Our world is already obsolete.”
Seeing this comment brought to mind Phoebe Bridgers, who is the other musician who was mentioned above (her latest album entitled “Punisher” was released the day before Dylan’s “Rough and Rowdy Ways”). To be precise, it called to mind an article from the May 25th edition of the “New Yorker” that dealt largely with her.
Matt Berninger, the lead vocalist for the rock group The National, has performed together with her at both live events and on recordings. In the article he was quoted as saying, “Phoebe writes so well about boredom and sadness.” This “boredom and sadness” blooms spectacularly in her single “Kyoto,” which was released ahead of the album.

Day off in Kyoto, got bored at the temple
Looked around at the 7-11
The band took the speed train, went to the arcade
I wanted to go but I didn’t
You called me from a payphone, they still got pay phones
It cost a dollar a minute
To tell me you’re getting sober and you wrote me a letter
But I don’t have to read it

As this song titled “Kyoto” the song doesn’t say anything about her impression of the city.It is difficult to claim that the song, which is said to have been inspired by her relationship with her father, as well as her experiences during her stay in Japan, is representative of the beauty of Japan’s former capital or its characteristic traits. So while it may be the case that the song is unrelated to Kyoto, it is a perfect fit when you consider the emotions elicited from the whole song.The feeling is that while staying in the environment that creates the loneliness and boredom described above, there is no sign of leaving, and the feeling of staying there overlaps with the appearance of Kyoto. Writing “staying there” may give you a dark, closed image.Yet conversely, she seems to be maintaining distance between herself and an outside world that only causes confusion, and has instead created her own unique world on the inside. Here one can detect a creativity and rebellious spirit of not bending or giving in to order (the outside world), and also catch sight of similarities with Kyoto, which has given rise to its own unique culture. This also reflects the utopia versus dystopia construct that frequently comes up for discussion in contemporary US pop culture. In “Kyoto,” the singer gives free reign to a freewheeling worldview much like the creation of virtual spaces brimming with creativity on TikTok, which is well-known as a social media site for the younger generation, that users can add music, dance, illustrations, etc. to samples from the reality (outside) to create a virtual space full of originality.

I’m gonna kill you
If you don’t beat me to it
Dreaming through Tokyo skies
I wanted to see the world
Then I flew over the ocean
And I changed my mind

Sunset’s been a freak show
On the weekend so I’ve been driving out to the suburbs
To park at the Goodwill and stare at the chem trails
With my little brother
He said you called on his birthday
You were off by like ten days
But you get a few points for trying
Remember getting the truck fixed when you let us drive it
25 felt like flying

I don’t forgive you
But please don’t hold me to it
Born under Scorpio skies
I wanted to see the world
Through your eyes until it happened
Then I changed my mind

Guess I lied
I’m a liar
Who lies
Cause I’m a liar

In the song a person gets in touch with the singer and her younger brother (her father maybe?), with it suggested that this person is struggling with alcoholism and they are a mess personally. This can be seen as a symbol of a tumultuous outside world, and yet even as the singer expresses her revulsion she cannot bring herself to completely sever this bond.
In a certain sense, this can be thought of as a sense of balance designed for reaching common ground between the external and internal worlds that the younger generation has equipped themselves with in order to go on with their lives (with said generations including Phoebe who is mid-20s).
It should be called a technique to protect herself by seeing the severe reality of political corruption, economic disparity, environmental destruction, etc. sideways, but without being fully immersed in the world, making another reality with her own hands.What is noteworthy is that even if you are introverted, there is no sense of tragedy or despair in the world depicted in “Kyoto.”What is strangely curious about it is that conversely the listener even senses some cheerfulness suffused throughout, which is aided by the light, bouncy melody.
Perhaps that is Dylan’s strength of a generation that grew up experiencing the Internet culture. No matter how boring or lonely you may be, the fact that you are connected with people who understand you and share your feelings far away may help you and give you confidence.

Text Niimoto Ryoichi
Illustration Masatoo Hirano
Edit Sumire Taya

The post TOKION SONG BOOK #1： Deciphering lyrics of Phoebe Bridgers “Kyoto”. Survival techniques of the US’ digital native generation. appeared first on TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information.